Ten out of 11 groups of products and services experienced CPI growth, ranging from 0.05 to 1.15%. The highest growth rate was in food and catering and the lowest was in pharmacy and healthcare. Housing and construction material prices decreased 0.64%.

Normally the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival falls in February when consumer demands for goods and services often rise suddenly, fuelling CPI. On the contrary, February 2014’s CPI did not follow the trend.

Head of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department Nguyen Duc Thang explains thanks to favourable weather conditions this year farm produce supply exceeded demand, and as a result food and foodstuff prices increased slightly during the Tet holiday.

In addition, when the economy has yet to recover completely, consumers have still tightened their belt, focusing on daily necessities. Market prices went up several days before Tet and quickly returned to normal.

Despite a stable supply, food prices inched up slightly against the previous month owing to a high demand for delicious rice and sticky rice.

An increasing demand for travel during the Tet holiday caused prices of restaurants, catering services and public transport to rise significantly.

Domestic gold prices edged up 1.87% against the previous month to reach VND35.3 million/tael. The foreign currency exchange rate remained stable at VND21,120/USD.

Thang predicts that essential commodities will go up slightly in March and the CPI is likely to surge around 0.55-0.6%.